Photo by Aubrey Carr | The Crow’s Nest
By Riley Benson
From back-to-back hurricanes and dorm room closures to an intense presidential and local election season, the emotional rollercoaster of a fall semester is finally coming to an end.
At the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, The Crow’s Nest provided timely, accurate reporting on a variety of campus and local news. This included an unforeseen student government (SG) leadership change, ongoing updates throughout Hurricanes Helene and Milton campus-wide closures, the experience of living in a USF shelter, and the major closure of Pelican Apartments (“RHO”) on campus.
University-wide
Breaking down USF’s new on-campus events policy following spring protests
Following the April pro-Palestinian encampment and protests at the USF Tampa campus, the university has reformed its event policy across all campuses to better set what is and isn’t allowed in non-reservable spaces on campuses. Students for a Democratic Society Tampa Bay spoke to The Crow’s Nest about how it feels that this new action directly impacts the organization’s mission to fight social issues.
USF reported a record-breaking number of over 68,000 applicants — a 5% increase from last fall. Yet, even with this increase in applicants across all campuses, USF St. Petersburg had an overall decline, with 512 new undergraduate students this semester, compared to last fall’s 740 new students. Moreover, most undergraduate minority groups saw a decline this semester as well.
Hurricane Helene
USFSP students react to Helene and campus closures ahead of storm’s arrival
The St. Petersburg campus closed ahead of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 24. Students living on campus were notified by email about their specific dorm closures, in compliance with a mandatory evacuation order issued by the City of St. Petersburg ahead of the storm.
St. Petersburg campus reopens on Sept. 29 after Hurricane Helene
Students at the St. Petersburg campus received confirmation that the campus would reopen on Sept. 29, with classes resuming on Sept. 30. Residence halls reopened at 8 a.m. and dining services at 10 a.m. on the Sept. 29. Interim director of USFSP communications and marketing Matthew Cimitile, said there was no storm surge damage or flooding in any of the residence halls at the campus.
Hurricane Milton
USF cancels classes, closes campuses and residence halls ahead of Hurricane Milton
Just a week and a half after Helene, USF announced virtual classes and campus closures ahead of Hurricane Milton. On-campus residents at the St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee campuses were required to evacuate the residence halls by noon on Oct. 7. Students who did not have a place to evacuate to were transported to the Tampa campus.
Students shelter at Jennings Middle School as USF evacuates residence halls across campuses
Residential USF students, that were unable to evacuate during Hurricane Milton, were taken to Jennings Middle School, to stay during the storm. Students reported sleeping on the school’s gymnasium, with a mix of blankets, sheets, comforters and air mattresses, which was not provided by USF and students had to supply their own. Many bathrooms were also missing sanitary supplies like hand soap, paper towels or toilet paper.
Students forced to relocate as Jennings Middle gymnasium deemed ‘unsafe for hurricane conditions’
Students sheltered at the Jennings Middle School gymnasium were forced to relocate to a classroom building on Oct. 9, hours prior to Hurricane Milton’s landfall, after the gymnasium was deemed “unsafe for hurricane conditions” by Hillsborough County officials.
In the day following of Hurricane Milton, USF continued to monitor the storm’s effects across all campuses. Campuses and residence halls were closed until Oct. 14, with classes held remotely. At the St. Petersburg campus, Pinellas County officials notified residents that the county had to shut off drinking water due to major water breaks. The city remained under a boil water notice until Oct. 14. According to Duke Energy, power outages were also reported at the USF St. Petersburg campus, specifically at RHO.
USF evacuees at Jennings Middle School return to Tampa campus
During Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10, evacuees at Jennings Middle School experienced a loss of power. While all the outlets in the building were inoperative for the remainder of the students’ stay, with many used power banks to charge their phones and laptops. The following day, all evacuees returned to the Tampa campus, with most Tampa residential student returning to their dorms.
Campus-wide
Campus landmarks rebuild after hurricanes
Following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, The Campus Grind and the Tavern, experienced flooding and damages to the building forcing their closure. The owners of the building didn’t encounter any leftover flood water, but the walls marked how high the storm surge rose. All of the businesses’ furniture, appliances and equipment were damaged and lost. The Grind and Tavern officially reopened on Nov. 27, after being closed for almost two months.
Results of an emotionally charged election season
After months of campaigning, America elected its president for the next four years, Donald Trump. Alongside the presidential election, major state and local Florida elections happened, like the failure of Amendments 3 and 4, the right to recreational marijuana and the constitutional right to an abortion, respectively.
Student Government
USFSP adds new campus council members to SG during midterm elections
Alongside the nationwide election, SG elected five new St. Petersburg campus council members. The campus is allowed nine seats in campus council, alongside nine other council members from the Sarasota-Manatee campus and 12 at the Tampa campus. Campus council roles often include advocacy, policy development, committee involvement, event support and accountability.
Governor resignation brings unprecedented mid-semester leadership change for USFSP
In an unusual and surprising change, mid-way through the semester, campus governor David Nguyen resigned from his position, making lieutenant governor Elise Prophete the new governor of the USF St. Petersburg campus. Prophete is the campus’ first Black governor.
RHO closure
RHO closes for two weeks due to “water impacts” post Hurricane Milton
RHO students learned of “water impacts” during the hurricane RHO that had to undergo repairs. RHO was closed for multiple weeks, with residents will not be allowed to pick up any of their personal items from their rooms and are encouraged to stay at home or where they evacuated to. If not, the university held residents in an “on-campus shelter” in the upstairs University Student Center ballrooms, with students showering in the SLC fitness center.
USFSP students petition for compensation after residence hall closure
Within 12 hours of learning they would be unable to return to their dorms in RHO for at least two weeks, RHO residents launched a petition calling on university officials to provide either financial compensation or alternative accommodations for displaced students. This petition, alongside anger from students and parents, resulted in USF announcing that RHO residents would receive credit for a later semester.
RHO repairs were completed on Oct. 29 without a set day for residents to return
The number of on-campus shelter residents grew to almost 20 students during the weeks of the closure. RHO houses 352 students, with many having to either commute or not got to classes entirely during the duration of the closure.
RHO residents were officially able to return to campus, after almost a month of being displaced. Residents of the 7 and 6 floors would be allowed to return Sunday, Oct. 27, with new residents being allowed in almost every other day. On Tuesday, Oct. 29, residents of the 5 and 4 floors would be allowed to return, on Thursday, Oct. 31, residents of the 3 and 2 floors bring allowed to return, then finally, on Friday, Nov. 1.
Residents report stolen, missing items and ‘excessively messy’ rooms in return to RHO
When the evacuated RHO residents began to return to campus, an overwhelming majority of students surveyed reported missing, damaged and stolen items when they returned to their rooms. They expressed feeling uneasy about strangers going through their belongings, sometimes unnecessarily. Ranging from over $600 cash to electronics being missing, many students had to report the missing items to the University Police Department and the St. Petersburg housing team.
Sports
Remembering Amir Abdur-Rahim: USF mourns the loss of a transformative coach
Head coach of the USF men’s basketball team, Amir Abdur-Rahim, passed away on Oct. 24, due to complications during surgery. Abdur-Rahim was named head coach of the USF Bulls in 2023. In his time with the team, he led them to victory at the Conference Championship and was recognized as Coach of the Year.
Celebrating coach Jose Fernandez’s 25 years of legacy at USF
Women’s basketball coach, Jose Fernandez, celebrated working with the team for 25 years this past November, at a ceremony held a Yuengling Center. Since he began his tenure at USF in 2000, the team has made eight NCAA Tournament appearances and secured two American Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament titles. With 425 career wins to date, Fernandez is USF’s all-time leader in victories and one of the longest-tenured coaches in Division I women’s basketball.
Bulls secure AAC title with win over UAB
The USF Volleyball team won its first American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season championship in 22 years. The win marked a milestone for head coach Jolene Shepardson, who played on the last USF team to take a conference title 22 years ago, and Caroline Dykes, who was recognized in a special pre-match ceremony for her career milestone of 4,000 career assists.
USF football earns bowl eligibility with 63-30 win against Tulsa
The University of South Florida Bulls secured bowl eligibility, marking USF’s 11th bowl appearance in its 24-year history. “Bowl games,” are one of several postseason college football games that is mostly played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams. A team will be allowed to participate in a bowl game if they are qualified, which USF earned their spot after winning their sixth game against Tulsa.
